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Family Nurse Practitioner Overview

MSN-FNP Overview

In as few as eight (8) semesters, Chamberlain’s Master of Science in Nursing Family Nurse Practitioner specialty track prepares students to expand their nursing practice. Through 100% online coursework, the FNP curriculum integrates theory and practical application through online discussion threads, simulation and clinical experiences.

Graduates of the program are prepared to sit for national certification as an FNP and enhance their role and opportunity for advancement in a wide range of healthcare settings.

*An FNP’s scope of practice is determined by individual State Boards of Nursing.

What is a Family Nurse Practitioner?

A Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) is an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) who focuses on comprehensive healthcare for families and family members across all ages, body systems and diseases. They deliver a range of acute, chronic and preventive healthcare services. In addition to diagnosing and treating illness, FNPs perform routine checkups, health-risk assessments, immunization and screening tests and can offer personalized counseling on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The FNP specialty track prepares you for a variety of roles** including:

Family Practice

Pediatric Primary Care

Retail Clinics

Women's Health

College Health

Internal Medicine

**Some careers may require several years of experience in addition to educational credentials.

Classes start January 2, 2017

Curriculum

What will I learn?

Chamberlain's FNP curriculum provides the foundation and support working nurses need as they prepare to expand their nursing practice. View the MSN curriculum (PDF) to learn about the MSN core courses.

MSN FNP Track Courses

This course introduces students to advanced practice competencies related to population health, epidemiology, and statistical principles. Students explore, analyze, apply, and evaluate biostatistics for evidence-based practice and population-based care. Topics include the use and application of epidemiology and statistics for the delivery and monitoring of aggregate populations.

This course provides students with advanced content in pathophysiology and human physiologic responses. The student explores, analyzes, applies, and evaluates the normal and abnormal human responses to selected pathophysiologic mechanisms and conditions.

This course expands knowledge of pharmacological principles specific to the role of the APN. Students explore, analyze, apply, and evaluate commonly used drugs for the treatment of chronic diseases and self-limiting acute conditions.

This course expands the knowledge and skills of health assessment principles necessary to perform a thorough health assessment. The student will develop assessment techniques related to history and physical examination of clients across the lifespan, including psychiatric-mental health and related supportive assessments. Students will explore, analyze, apply, and evaluate these principles in the classroom and laboratory.A Health Assessment Performance Evaluation will occur in the laboratory setting, requiring the student to visit the Chamberlain campus offering this evaluation.

This course introduces students to the role development of today’s advanced practice nurse (APN) leader in society and healthcare organization systems from the perspective of primary and acute care. Students will explore, analyze, apply, and evaluate diverse aspects of ethical and legal decision-making standards specific to APN scope of practice. Topics include the standards and regulations governing the practice of APNs in diverse settings. The course emphasizes strategies and processes that foster implementation of visionary leadership, diffusion of innovation, and change within an organization and explores social, political, legal, legislative, regulatory, and organizational factors that influence healthcare. Principles of leadership are emphasized including ethics, negotiation, motivating others, acting as an advocate, problem-solving, managing diversity, interprofessional collaboration and multi-agency partnerships, quality improvement and safety, and organizational behavior.

Practicum

How do practicum work?

Nursing practicums are courses in which you apply your knowledge and skills in real-life situations. Practicum courses are very different from core courses because they place additional responsibility on you, the learner. To be prepared for practicum courses, it is critical for you to identify and formalize arrangements for your practicum experience as early as possible.

What You Need to Know:

Each practicum course contains 125 practicum hours, which must be completed within seven weeks, or approximately 18 hours per week

You are responsible for selecting an appropriate site and preceptor; Chamberlain will provide guidance both during the admissions process and once you begin your program. Once you've identified your chosen site and preceptor your practicum coordinator will secure the necessary contracts on your behalf.

All practicum hours must be scheduled and completed with your selected preceptor during the course and hours may not be carried over to or made up with a future practicum course. (Be sure to include time for illness or preceptor’s absence in your calculation of how many hours per week you may need to complete)

You must complete all five practicums in the sequence outlined below

The online learning format helps ensure that life doesn’t get in the way of school and that school doesn’t get in the way of life.

Practicum Courses

This course will provide students with content regarding formulating
differential diagnoses of individuals within the primary care setting,
along with an introduction to critical diagnostic skills to cultivate
evidence-based behaviors. An emphasis will be placed on processing
client information in a logical, progressive manner and formulating
differential diagnoses for individuals across the lifespan. The course
will include 125 hours of supervised clinical practicum in primary care.

This course continues to expand the knowledge of health-assessment
principles specific to the role of the FNP, with a focus on the common
health problems and healthcare needs of the middle-aged and older
adult and family. The student will explore, analyze, apply, and evaluate
chronic health conditions frequently encountered in the primary care of
older adults. Students will further develop their skills related to patient
education, protocol development, follow-up, and referral through
a clinical practicum experience in a precepted primary-care setting.

This course continues to expand the knowledge of health assessment
principles specific to the role of the FNP, with a focus on the healthcare
needs of women and families throughout reproductive and childrearing
years. Students will further develop their skills related to health promotion,
prevention of illness, diagnosis, and management of health problems
commonly experienced. Care strategies will include patient education,
protocol development, follow-up, and referral through a clinical
practicum experience in a precepted primary care setting.

This course continues to expand the theoretical and practical knowledge of diagnostic principles specific to the role of the FNP, for the healthcare needs of individuals of all ages. Students will further develop their skills related to health promotion, prevention of illness, diagnosis, and management of complex acute and chronic conditions, including behavioral health. Care strategies will include patient education, protocol development, follow-up, and referral through a clinical practicum experience in a precepted advanced practice setting.

Students synthesize all elements of clinical management skills and knowledge and continue to analyze, apply, and evaluate diverse aspects of patient assessment and care. This precepted clinical practicum is with an approved provider in an advanced practice setting. Focus topics include clinical management skills, case studies, chart reviews, and practice critique, with a capstone product evidencing increasing complex clinical management skills.

Preceptors & Practicum Sites

Once you apply, your admission representative will provide you with information on how to identify a potential practicum site and preceptor. You are responsible for identifying an appropriate practicum site and preceptor. Before starting the MSN FNP program, you do not need to identify a preceptor. However, we require you to identify a potential practicum site before you can enroll in your first class.

What is a preceptor?

Serve as a role model for you, while mentoring and directly supervising all aspects of your practicum experience

Promote your professional development by strategies for remaining current in the field and engaging in ongoing continuing education

Orient you to the practicum site environment and identify appropriate experiential opportunities that align with course outcomes, student learning agreement and needed skills by the end of the practicum course

Meet with faculty three times throughout the practicum via conference call to evaluate your progress

Preceptor Criteria

You may use a board certified nurse practitioner, medical doctor, doctor of osteopathy or a physician's assistant as your preceptor. You will be asked to provide a copy of their CV, medical license and board certification (for NPs only).

Nurse Practitioner Preceptor Guidelines

Master’s degree in nursing at a minimum

Nationally board-certified as a nurse practitioner

Hold an active advanced practice license in the state in which you will conduct your practicum

Have at least one year of practice as a nurse practitioner

Is not your current supervisor

Tip: It is recommended to have a secondary preceptor and practicum site selected in the event that your initial selection does not meet the requirements or your practicum cannot be completed in time.

Practicum Site Criteria

Your practicum site must be an outpatient, primary care setting such as a family practice clinic

Your practicum site cannot be in a hospital or inpatient setting. If your preceptor sees patients in a clinic, but also does rounds in a hospital, you can accompany them on rounds but your site must be the clinic location

You must spend the first two practicum courses in outpatient, primary care but you may participate in specialty rotations in your final three courses (pending approval)

Your practicum site may be the institution where you are currently employed but you must function outside of the RN role and work as a student with your preceptor

It is possible to change specialty tracks within all non-nurse practitioner tracks (Educator, Executive, Healthcare Policy and Informatics). If you wish to change tracks, we recommend that you do so while you are in your core courses because credits completed in the original specialty track will not transfer to a different specialty track. Switching into the Family Nurse Practitioner specialty track is subject to Dean approval and availability.

We recommend you take one class per session. Sessions are eight weeks long and our nursing students average about 12-15 hours per week toward their studies when taking one class per session. If after your first course you feel you can successfully manage more than one course at a time, contact your student services team and ask to discuss an accelerated plan of study.

Communicating with your professors is vital to your success in your MSN program. In addition to all graduate faculty members being doctorally prepared, they also participate in an extensive training program to prepare them for online teaching and to provide you with the support and care you deserve. The following are the avenues for contacting your professors:

Email and phone: Professors will provide their contact information in the syllabus. They are required to provide you with their email address and most provide their phone numbers with office hours. Professors typically respond within 24 hours.

Q&A forum: You will have a Q&A forum in every class you attend to post comments and questions that can be answered by anyone in the class, including the professor.

Threaded discussions: Professors are very good at participating in threaded discussions throughout the week and driving conversations to gain insightful information.

Compliance Requirements

Clinical compliance is required prior to registering for any practicum course. You will be contacted by the Clinical Compliance Coordinator one session prior to the practicum course (during NR-509) and they will provide you with a compliance packet and instructions for submitting the required items. You must have all your compliance items submitted to the Clinical Compliance Coordinator by Friday of week seven in NR-509 or you will not be allowed to register for the practicum course. Your practicum site may have additional compliance requirements for you to meet prior to starting your practicum. If so, the Clinical Compliance Coordinator will be notified by your practicum coordinator once the contract is complete and on file with Chamberlain.

FNP Practicum Resources

Practicum Questions

Immersion Weekend

What happens during Immersion Weekend?

As part of the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) curriculum, you’ll attend an immersion weekend during week 7 of the NR-509 course, Advanced Physical Assessment. The purpose of the immersion weekend is to provide you the opportunity to interact with your professors and fellow students, observe, participate and be evaluated on clinical assessment skills, thus ensuring your preparation for advanced learning within your practicum experiences.

The immersion weekend allows faculty and staff to work with you and assess your clinical competency before entering clinical rotations. The weekend also allows you to further experience Chamberlain Care.™ Extra time is taken to go through an overview of what to expect in NR-511: Differential Diagnosis and Primary Care, your first clinical course. This preparation helps set you up for continued success.

FNP Immersion Weekend Agenda

Friday

You'll arrive leading into the weekend. This allows you time to check in to your hotel and get situated.

Saturday

The immersion itself starts on Saturday morning. The Dean welcomes everyone with an opening keynote before you break out to the skill sessions with your professors.

During the first day, you will spend time with your professors going through five skill stations learning to gather history and physical exam data pertinent to patient complaints that might be seen in a primary care setting. The following are the complaints you will learn about:

Generalized abdominal pain

Cough

Non-specific headache

Sore throat

Sinus pain

Ear pain

Skin rash

The day ends with dinner and leaves ample time for you to prepare for your demonstration the next day.

Sunday

On Sunday, you perform one of the five assessments based on a random selection to demonstrate your knowledge in order to advance to practicum courses. Once through, your immersion is complete.

Immersion Weekend Questions?

Tuition & Expenses

What types of financial assistance are available to me?

MSN Program Costs

Chamberlain provides you with individualized support throughout your educational journey beginning with the admissions process. Your admissions representative will work with you to build a schedule that will work with your life and finances, whether that's one class or three. Check out the Net Price Calculatorfor an estimate of federal and institutional aid.

MSN Expenses – Effective November 2016

Application Fee

$60

Tuition (for core and non-FNP Specialty Track courses)

$650 per credit hour

Tuition for FNP Specialty Track courses

$665 per credit hour

Background Check/Drug Screening

$150

Student Services

$150 per session

Course Resource Fee

$50 per course

Military Rate*

$550 - $565 per credit hour

Alumni Rate

$550 - $565 per credit hour

Books & Supplies

$50 per session

APRN Fee (FNP Specialty Track)

$4,500

Costs subject to change each session and vary by individual circumstances.

Financial Aid Options

Chamberlain partners with healthcare institutions, community colleges and associations to provide accessible educational opportunities for registered nurses. Check to see if you qualify for a group-specific tuition rate
because of your association with one of our healthcare partners.

At this time, Chamberlain College of Nursing cannot accept inquiries from the states of Washington D.C., Idaho, Louisiana, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota or Washington for the MSN Family Nurse Practitioner Program.

Accreditation & Approvals by State

See specific information for your state by selecting your state and
program of interest.

To report unresolved complaints to the Illinois Board of Higher Education visit their webpage at http://complaints.ibhe.org/ or by mail to 1 N.
Old State Capitol Plaza, Suite 333, Springfield, IL 62701-1377.